Top 5 Online Design Tools for Social Media Graphics
Graphics aren’t optional for small businesses anymore, they’re a necessity. If you wish to lead a successful social media marketing campaign, you’ll need Instagram posts and short-form videos. The good news? You don’t need to invest in expensive design software or a professional graphic designer to make social media visuals anymore.
Online tools available in the market are more than enough for all your design needs, especially those powered by AI. In this guide, we’ll break down the 5 best online AI-powered platforms for designing social media graphics and compare their usability, pricing, and features.
- Canva
Looking for something that is beginner-friendly and has tens of thousands of customisable templates? Canva is the best fit for you. With an easy-to-navigate user interface and massive template library, you can design for a variety of graphic formats. Whether you’re looking to create a post or a flyer, Canva’s editing suite has something for everyone.
General-purpose content creation is fairly simple with Canva. Use pre-built layouts with tons of options to choose from, drag-and-drop customisation to add personality, and you’re done!
Key Features
- The Magic Write feature can generate short-form text for social media graphics.
- AI Image Generator can create visuals from text prompts.
- The background remover can isolate subjects from a background in one single click.
- You can save and reuse logos, fonts, and colour palettes by using Canva’s brand kits.
Pricing
- Free plan
- Canva Pro: $12/month per user – $14/month per user
- Canva Teams: Starts from $29.99/month per user (custom pricing for different team sizes)
- Adobe Express
Is streamlining your design workflow a difficult task for you? Adobe Express is a design powerhouse that is capable of dealing with that. By offering its users access to Adobe Creative Cloud software, you can use this tool to create professional and polished social media graphics ranging from social posts to short-form videos.
Use Adobe Express’ professionally styled templates for easy customisation. This tool is ideal for beginner content creators and marketing professionals as it guarantees polished results without investing too much effort.
Key Features
- The text-to-image generator simplifies the tedious task of using your own product photography or generic stock photos for posts.
- The Quick Actions feature is useful for quick resizing, trimming, and cleaning cluttered graphics.
- Opt for image background removal for minimalistic editing.
- Adobe’s Style Presets can help you apply consistent branding across multiple designs.
Pricing
- Free plan
- Premium: $9.99/month per user
- Buffer
Buffer isn’t your basic design platform, it’s much more than that. Its speciality lies in social media scheduling, planning, and publishing. If you’re looking for a combination of basic design tools with tools that support content creation cycles, this tool is ideal. Keep in mind, this tool places a heavy emphasis on collaboration so it only offers basic editing features for designing social media posts.
If your goal is to improve content scheduling and consistency, you can use Buffer to streamline marketing teams which are managing multiple accounts. Features such as the content planner can be very beneficial for individuals who are prioritising efficiency over visual depth in their designs.
Key Features
- The AI Caption Assistant generates captions for your social media post descriptions.
- Offers Post Optimisation Tools which offer suggestions to improve post timing and formatting.
- There are simple image editing tools such as adding text and images to an empty layout.
Pricing
- Free plan
- Paid: $6/month per user
- VistaCreate
VistaCreate is an online design tool focused on quick social media content generation. If you’re looking to incorporate animated elements into your graphics, this platform has a variety of editing tools to help you with that as well. With ready-made templates optimised for engagement, it’s beneficial for small business owners looking to run short-term marketing campaigns.
This tool has minimal setup and an easy learning curve, so no need to fret if you don’t have any prior designing experience. VistaCreate is beneficial for beginners or professional marketers experimenting with motion-based content.
Key Features
- The AI Image Generator quickly generates visuals from text prompts.
- The Background Remover is efficient for isolating products or subjects in a single click.
- Smart Templates are helpful for automatically adjusting layouts for different social media formats.
- Animation Tools add some motion to static designs for increased interactivity and engagement.
Pricing
- Free plan
- Pro: $10/month per user
- PosterMyWall
If you’re looking for a platform that’s geared towards small businesses in particular, PosterMyWall has got your back. This AI-powered design platform is an all-in-one solution for most of your social media marketing needs. If you’re looking to repurpose content and create new content efficiently, you can rely on this tool’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.
Knowing where to start with a graphic is the trickiest part. That’s where PosterMyWall’s large library of customisable templates pull through. Simply, pick one that matches the theme of your campaign and start editing! Save time and reuse content across multiple platforms hassle-free by using this tool.
Key Features
- Thousands of customisable templates with pre-sized layouts for Instagram carousels, stories, reels, and paid ads.
- Built-in brand kits so you can save your brand’s logos, fonts, and colours to use in future posts.
- AI-powered tools like AI Images to create unique artwork from text prompts.
- Smart resizing and auto-layout tools to tailor posts for omnichannel promotional content.
- The AI copywriter assistant can help you create captions for posts, headlines for posters, and any other promotional text.
Pricing
- Free plan
- Premium: $9.95/month per user
- Premium Plus: $29.95/month per user
What Design Tools Suits Your Workflow?
Beginner design errors are quite common if you’re just getting started. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re picking the right tool for your design needs:
- Design Reusability
Pick a tool that offers options for duplicating, resizing, or adapting designs to multiple platforms. This makes sure you don’t waste time rebuilding layouts from scratch.
- Brand Control
Evaluate whether the tool you’re choosing offers brand kits. Brand kits are a beneficial tool if you want to save and reuse consistent branding elements such logos, fonts, and color palettes. For a business with a vast content library, this feature is crucial.
- Collaboration Tools
If there’s more than one person creating, sharing, and approving content, pick a design platform with easy-to-use collaborative features. Make sure it has shared access, edible templates, and version control for all designs.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about online design tools for social media graphics.
- Do free design tools limit when I can post?
That depends. Free plans tend to cover basic editing features and download options. However, they can restrict certain types of exports, branding kits, or advanced editing features. You can start free and design a post or two to determine whether you’d like to invest in a paid plan.
- What should marketing teams look for when choosing a design tool?
Teams should look for three things in an online design tool: shared folders, editable templates, and brand kits. Reduce rework and use a platform which will help keep your entire team on track. If you’re working with multiple teams or individuals, Buffer, Canva, and PosterMyWall can be good options for you.